The Garden District

The Garden District: When Cotton was King

Tour this historic American sector of New Orleans with its antebellum mansions and stately gardens, and revisit the golden age of New Orleans when Cotton was King. A stop in Lafayette Cemetery #1 will provide a glimpse into local burial customs and tomb types.

This is your chance to get the low-down on the 19th c. rivalry between the French-speaking, Catholic Creoles downtown and the Anglo-American Protestants who mostly settled in this uptown neighborhood. Why did New Orleans become such a boomtown? What was life like in those days? What brought about a decline? These are some of the questions we’ll consider as we stroll through this beautiful historic district.

Among the highlights of this tour:

The Greek Revival and Italianate mansions of sugar barons, cotton factors, and other kings of commerce

The gorgeous live oaks, magnolias, figs, crepe myrtles, sweet olives, citrus trees, and other local flora.

Lafayette Cemetery #1, a beautiful and historic resting place for the Americans and Europeans who came to New Orleans in the 19th c. to make their fortunes

Movies filmed in the neighborhood, and some of our celebrity residents

The Civil War and the Union occupation of New Orleans

Magazine Street and the Irish Channel, once home to many Irish and German immigrants